Denise Marsa has an extraordinarily
powerful voice. No wonder she was selected by Dean Friedman and others as a
key collaborator. From that appearance on "Lucky Stars" all those
years ago, Denise has not stood still. In fact, she has been singing, writing,
and producing her own material since she was a teenager. It's well worth while
visiting her own web-site at www.denisemarsa.com to catch up on her bio,
tours, and info on her debut album "Self".

She wrote all the songs on the album,
and that's no small achievement, apparent when you listen to the complexity of
melody and lyrics. The production, by contrast, is relatively straightforward.
I understand her live performances are largely acoustic, matching well this
production style. There is much acoustic backing on the album, but whether
acoustic or electric, it is all truly superb, especially the percussion.

The power in Denise's voice is used to
good effect, though I found it took a little getting used to. In the love
songs, the strength of the voice runs parallel with the strength of emotion
being communicated - clever stuff indeed. Other songs have clever lyrics in a
different direction. Particularly appealing are the ironic comments in track
7, "Thanks For Asking" and one line: 'don't you think there's a
slight possibility Nixon might have been innocent'. Marvelous!

Denise is due for some solo success,
and this album should be the vehicle to achieve it. "Self" can be
bought direct from her website. Why not join the bandwagon - it's rolling.

For reference, complete track listing:

1. Shed

2. In A Town Called Jesus

3. The Land Has A Dream

4. In A Matter Of Moments

5. Hard Way

6. Subtle, Mixed Emotions

7. Thanks For Asking

8. Nice Dream Today

9. No Comparisons, Please

10. House Of Tears

11. It's No Ordinary Day

- GV -

"Villa Elaine"

Remy Zero

Geffen; GED-25300

Performance:

Audio:

"Mmm, What's this?" said my
16-year old. "It's good!" "This" happened to be
"Villa Elaine" by Remy Zero, and "good" hardly does it
justice. Every track is terrific, and the instant appeal grows into a deeper
appreciation with increasing familiarity. Each listening brings out fresh
features to enjoy.

The material ranges from fairly light
rock to really quite heavy. Without claiming to identify the influences
brought to bear on Remy Zero, I can't help feeling that fans of Crowded House
will find much to enjoy in "Villa "Elaine". Nearly every track
has a hook or two - that certain memorable something that catches the
attention.

Some of the material here has an
appealing quirkiness to it. It is good to have a sense of humor in music as in
other walks of life. I had to sit up and take notice at the reference in
"Yellow Light" to a certain Mr. Crow. The only Mr. Crow I know is
the one supposed to perform with Sir Norman on the Idle Race's track from
their eponymous second album - more quirky stuff indeed.

There are some nice changes of pace,
some gorgeous vocal harmonies, and also some tempo changes ranging from an S
& G "Homeward Bound" style in "Life In Rain" to the
beat-laden "Gramarye" - I didn't even try to stop my foot-tapping on
this one. Oddly, though, for such a well-produced album, there was evidence of
the compressor pumping on that latter track.

I personally rate this album very
highly - it has a regular spot in the car stereo at the moment.

For reference, complete track listing:

1. Hermes Bird

2. Prophecy

3. Life In Rain

4. Hollow

5. Problem

6. Whither Vulcan

7. Gramarye

8. Yellow Light

9. Motorcycle

10. Fair

11. Goodbye Little World

- GV -

"Tribute to Aerosmith"

Various Artists

Cleopatra; CD-112

Performance:

Audio:

"Not The Same Old Song And
Dance", as those familiar with the original track ("Same Old Song
And Dance") will no doubt have guessed is a tribute album to the great
rock-classics themselves, Aerosmith. In a world where tribute-bands are
commonplace - I saw a tribute to B*Witched the other day - we should not be
too surprised to be offered a tribute to a band that is still alive. On the
other hand, it had better be good!

This album features contributions from
members and ex-members of Black Sabbath, Kiss, Ozzy Osbourne, Whitesnake, and
many others, and that fact is flaunted on the front cover. So the pedigree is
good, and the choice of songs is flawless. My only actual dislike is for track
6, "Dream On" with its rather whining vocals by Ronnie James and
little in the background instrumentation to fill it out.

In fact, the album has been put
together with great respect. There is some freshness to the songs that still
creates an exciting sound and interest for the listener. However, I must admit
here that, where I normally leave the CD player on 'repeat-all', in the case
of "Not The Same Old Song And Dance", I found the intensity rather
too much for more than one listen-through at a time.

So why buy an album of 'fakes' (being
deliberately provocative) when you can buy the genuine article? Well, you
won't get this precise mix of tracks from Aerosmith. And there are differences
in interpretation which may appeal. So if these factors conspire to tempt you
to part with your hard-earned, you will not be disappointed. And Aerosmith
completists could find it irresistible!